Let Peter Nero and the Philly Pops® transport you back to the music of "Motown Magic"10/08/2007
Spectrum, an all-male vocal quartet, recreates
the music that made musical history
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops’® “Motown Magic” recreates the music that moved a generation. Spectrum, an all-male vocal quartet with wide-ranging voices, smooth harmonies, and slick choreography, comes to Philadelphia from their continuously sold-out show in Las Vegas. They join Peter Nero and his multitalented Philly Pops to transport audiences back to one of music’s most magical periods! Performances take place on November 4, 7, and 9-11, 2007, in Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (see calendar below for concert times).
“I like to think of our concerts as a soundtrack of American life,” says artistic director and conductor Peter Nero. “From classical, jazz, and big band to rock, pop, and contemporary, we bring audiences diverse sounds of music from all over the world. Motown had a huge impact on the American soundtrack, and I’m delighted to showcase it for the first time on a Philly Pops show.”
Motown – short for “Motor Town” – came out of Detroit in 1957. It combines the soulful harmonies of gospel and blues with rock and polished pop production values. Artists such as Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and the Four Tops turned it into a world-wide phenomenon.
Peter Nero
On January 27, 2007, Peter Nero performed at the Academy of Music 150th Anniversary Concert, joining rock icon Rod Stewart from the piano on “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.” Maestro Nero was a guest soloist on Mr. Stewart’s second of four recordings, As Time Goes By ... The Great American Songbook, Vol. 2.
A two-time Grammy® Award-winner and 10 time nominee, Mr. Nero has built an impressive career as a conductor, arranger, composer, and master pianist. “If he weren’t such a superb musician, Peter Nero might be easy to dismiss as a mere great entertainer,” notes Peter Dobrin, music critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer. For his ability to pick just the right material, Mr. Nero most recently was dubbed “Dr. Feelgood.” Named “the epitome of the Pops Conductor/Performer” by the Washington Post, Mr. Nero won the Grammy® Award for “Best New Artist” in 1961, another in 1962, and since that time has garnered 10 additional nominations and released 67 albums. Mr. Nero’s recent guest performances include engagements with the Indianapolis Symphony, the National Arts Centre Symphony in Ottawa, the Charlotte Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Baltimore Symphony, among others. He has made numerous television appearances on national networks as well as PBS. He is the recipient of six honorary doctorates and in 1999 received the Pennsylvania Distinguished Arts Award.
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops
One of America’s premier pops orchestras, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops was founded in 1979 under the musical leadership of Mr. Nero, whose unique talents and innovative programming blending all musical genres have made their concerts widely popular in the pops world. POPS concerts run the gamut from great classics to jazz improvisation, big band to Broadway hits, ragtime to rock ‘n’ roll. Mr. Nero’s participation as piano soloist has been received with boundless enthusiasm and acclaim. Guest artists—both established stars as well as outstanding new vocalists from Broadway and the concert stage—join The POPS each season. The Voices of The POPS, the resident vocal group, has become a member of the Philly Pops family as well.
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops is the Official Pops Orchestra of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a significant part of Philadelphia’s cultural scene. The POPS has produced continuously growing and loyal audiences and performs to regularly sold-out crowds as a resident company of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops has played a role in the City of Philadelphia’s Fourth of July celebration for over 20 years. On July 3, 2007, for the fourth consecutive year, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops performed a free outdoor concert in front of Independence Hall. This immensely popular annual event, which includes a musical tribute to all branches of the armed forces, draws thousands of attendees. On July 4, 2006, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops performed a free outdoor concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Their concert on the Parkway the previous Independence Day, featuring Sir Elton John, Patti LaBelle, and Bryan Adams, reached over a half million people. Other notables who have joined them for past city celebrations include James Earl Jones, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Ray Charles, Boyz II Men, and Dionne Warwick.
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops celebrated its 25th anniversary during the 2003-04 season and is looking forward to celebrating its 30th anniversary during the 2008-09 season. Peter and The POPS had the honor of performing at the opening of the National Constitution Center in 2003, and participating in National Public Radio’s nation-wide radio broadcast on July 4, 2002. Another highlight took place in April 2002, when Astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn made a guest appearance in a special performance of Peter’s original composition Voyage into Space. Peter and The POPS were featured on ABC-TV’s “Independence Day 2001,” a live, star-studded national broadcast, sharing the stage with such luminaries as Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Garth Brooks.
More information about Peter Nero and the Philly Pops can be found at www.phillypops.org.
Special Guest Spectrum
After spending six years recreating the sound and style of Motown hit makers the Four Tops in a multi-million dollar Las Vegas production, the vocal quartet Spectrum has developed the versatility to cover the music of groups from the Platters to the Temptations to Boyz II Men.
The group’s credits include a seven-month European tour, headlining aboard the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ships, tours around the U.S., the closing spot in Doo-Wop to Soul Review at the Hollywood Palladium, and a guest engagement with the Claremont Symphony in California. Spectrum performs abroad and throughout the United States as well as in Las Vegas, their home since 1995.
Spectrum consists of Darryl Grant of Oakland, California; Pierre Jovan of Chicago, Illinois; David Prescott of Rochester, New York; and Cushney Roberts, of East Orange, N.J.
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Peter Nero and the Philly Pops®
Motown Magic
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
November 4 at 3:00 p.m. – Sunday afternoon
November 7 at 8:00 p.m. – Wednesday evening
November 9 at 8:00 p.m. – Friday evening
November 10 at 3:00 p.m. – Saturday afternoon
November 11 at 3:00 p.m. – Sunday afternoon
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops
Peter Nero, conductor and pianist
With special guest Spectrum
Single tickets: $26-$100, 215.893.1999 or www.phillypops.org
US Airways is the exclusive airline sponsor of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops.
CBS-3 is the television media sponsor of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops’ 2007-08 season.
B-101 is the radio media sponsor of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops’ 2007-08 season.
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